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Get ahead on your driving test

Two months ago mummy porn classic '50 Shades of Gray' overtook The Highway Code as Britain's top selling book of all time with 5.7 million hardcopy sales, pushing the DaVinci Code down to third and Harry Potter back to fourth place, those three authors dominating the top ten. In my day (the pink slip years) the written part of the test did not exist and all that road sign identification stuff part of the actual test on the day. We would buy the Highway Code and then it became a simple exercise of remembering the road signs, driving laws and instructions. The driving instructor would then ask you some questions at the end of your test about all that stuff and then point out some signs you had to identity. It was pretty easy stuff and I doubt if you could ever be failed on it, most of the signs and lines learnt as a pedestrian anyway.

It took me three times to past my test and always failed on small busy roundabouts, too brave or too timid, causing a blast of car horns and waved cartoon fists. But the written theory test has been introduced and you can fail your test on those road sign and rules identification as you have to sit it separately. Cynics would say the sit-down theory test was introduced to raise more revenue for the treasury, the cost of the test rising dramatically since. It cost £62 to take your practical test in the week and £75 at the weekend. Like GCSEs and A-Levels, you can re-sit the written test until you pass it, as long as you pay the money, currently £31 a throw. If you make the test harder every year then you get more money in! The record is held by an unnamed woman from south London who has reportedly spent £3000 plus on retaking her driving theory test an extraordinary 90 times, and a man from Leicester has spent £1650 on 22 practical tests. There is an even bigger test mark up for the Treasury for disqualified drivers retaking their test. If you taking your test in East Anglia the Tractor test is the same price as the car!

SO, if you need help passing your theory then it's wise to brush up on what's coming. I passed my test when I was 23 and so my need of the disc was for a little sideline me and my friend had going with helping the influx of foreigner nationals to Northampton to learn English and other things to help them enjoy their stay her. Most of them work hard and want to get on so why not cash in on them? We basically taught them English for ten quid an hour and also helped them with immigration stuff. But they also wanted to drive and so we helped them there with this disc and some driving lessons or our own. There are also lots of rules to learn on how valid their license is in the U.K. and who can drive here.

=== Verbatim from the Home Office website===

After 12 months, some foreign licence remain valid for use in the UK for a limited period; some may be exchanged for a UK licence; some cease to be valid and a full driving test must be taken for a British licence (GB) to be issued. A valid driving licence issued anywhere within the European Union , or European Economic Area (EEA), may be used by the licence holder until the age of 70, or for up to three years from the time they become resident in Great Britain (whichever is longer). After three years it must be exchanged for a GB licence. EU licenses can only be renewed in the country in which the holder is resident. If a driver holds a licence from another EU country and renews it in Britain, it will be converted to a UK licence. An EU/EEA-issued licence may not be exchanged for a GB licence if it was issued in exchange for an original licence not on the "designated countries" list.A licence issued in one of the 15 countries with which Great Britain has a reciprocal licensing agreement may be used for 12 months and then exchanged for a GB licence of an equivalent category. Australia, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Falkland Islands, Hong Kong, Japan, Monaco, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland and Zimbabwe.

So basically an overseas driver can use their license here for one year and then has to worry about retesting or swapping for the British license. I think most of you heard the story of the Polish driver 'Mr Prawo Jazdy, wanted for over 50 offences all over Ireland. But he remained elusive until the Garda finally twigged that 'Prawo Jazdy' was, infact, Polish for 'drivers licence'!

Teaching them to use the CD and DVD was straightforward although we did ban them from using the DVD in their native language translation. They are in the United Kingdom so they should learn the road signs and road rules in English. I understand there are occasions when road signs here need to be in Polish for visiting truck drivers but for car drivers they need to know the signs and rules to take the test. The boxset contains 4 DVDs. One on Theory, one on hazards, one on the Practical Driving Test and one on driving lessons.

The OFFICIAL Hazard Perception Test introduction video LEARN ON THE MOVE - practice DSA questions on your mobile phone, iPod, PDA etc FREE DRIVING LESSON* offer and a PASS GUARANTEE* FREE Racing Game worth £9.99 - Have some fun when the hard work is over!

It's all covered on the discs but as I have said before you can get most of this stuff free online. How to react to road hazards was useful with up to 100 of them to see how you react interactively. Some are common sense but some generally informative. There is shortened theory test exercises you can take and retake until you get up to 30/30 and if you get the up to date version then it all but secures you they test pass as they are the original questions for the year. You can use the discs on multi platforms and a nice touch if questions you can answer you Iphone or mobile when you are out and about. It also covers the motorcycle test. There is a free driving lesson voucher in the box set although it's hard to imagine anyone would accept it. There is also a free racing game thing but did not hold my attention for long. Why you want to see car crashes on a driving test tutorial pack is confusing.

On the whole it's a very comprehensive package and fun and easy to use. It bangs the main points into your head and you can keep retaking the various tests until you are confident. The man who takes the driving lesson tutorials on the DVD is a bit irritating, as are most me with beards, but you will get used to it.